European Tour / Irish Round-up: Officially, the European Tour season for 2003 has finished but, to look at the itineraries of Irishmen Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington for the next couple of months, you wouldn't think it.
Clarke, in fact, gets a head-start on the globetrotting by playing in this week's Tour Championship, the finale to the US Tour, in Houston, Texas, having booked his place by finishing in the top 30 on the US money list, while Harrington remains on in Spain for the Seve Trophy.
Clarke yesterday withdrew from the Seve Trophy in El Saler (he had qualified number one for the Britain and Ireland team) so he can play stateside, his place on the team going to England's David Howell.
The Tyrone man had flagged his intention to defect from the team if results in last weekend's Chrysler Championship - won by Retief Goosen - went his way, and he managed to stay in the elite field. He did, but only just.
"I've always wanted to play in the Tour Championship. It's a big tournament and one of three that I have always wanted to compete in, but haven't previously qualified for. The others are the Mercedes Championship, which I am eligible for in January, and the Grand Slam of Golf. To play in that I obviously need to win a major, so we'll see," said Clarke, who intends to play more frequently on the US Tour next season where he has a full card.
While Clarke becomes the first Irish player to qualify to play in the Tour Championship - his inclusion actually means there are 31 players in the field, where Vijay Singh will be seeking to claim the money title for the first time - it is the start of an intensive end-of-season schedule for him that sees him conduct corporate golf days in Singapore and Japan in subsequent weeks before playing in the Nedbank Million Dollar in Sun City in the last week of November.
Then, he plays in the Omega Hong Kong Open, the first tournament of the 2004 season, on December 4th-7th before flying to California for the Target World Challenge the following week.
"After all that travel, I'm going to get home and then go to Lapland with the family for three days, spend nine days at home for Christmas, and start all over again when leaving for Hawaii (where the Mercedes Championship takes place) on the 2nd of January," explained Clarke.
Harrington, who has dropped one place to 10th in the world rankings after Goosen's first US Tour win of the season, enabled the South African to leapfrog him, also has an intensive schedule ahead, starting with this week's Seve Trophy where the B&I team seek to retain the trophy won at Druids Glen a year ago. From El Saler, the Dubliner travels on to Kiawah Island, where he will again partner Paul McGinley in the World Cup, and then moves down to Florida for a skins shoot-out.
A one-week break will be followed by playing the Nedbank in Sun City, the Hong Kong Open and, finally, defending the Target World Challenge in California.
"I'm actually looking forward to playing some team golf over the next couple of weeks, it's a nice change," said Harrington. "In particular, I'm looking forward to the World Cup. Paul's very close to playing well and, hopefully, the two of us can bounce off each other and have a good week. We're well capable of winning it. Maybe there's a little bit more pressure because we have performed well there before (the pair won in 1997). It's a course that I know suits my eye, and I will feel comfortable."
Although Harrington failed to perform well in Valderrama - ultimately finishing in tied-19th, 14 shots behind the winner Fredrik Jacobson who has jumped 22 places to number 19 in the world rankings - he insisted he is "quite happy with how I am playing. I'd take my form for the next couple of weeks, I am very pleased with it."
Of Valderrama, he explained: "It is not a course that suits me, and there are golf courses like that. Wentworth is another one that baffles me. But I'm certainly looking forward to Kiawah Island."
His playing partner for the World Cup in the US will be McGinley, who insisted much of his week off - he failed to make the Seve Trophy team - would be spent practising, particularly on his putting, which he claimed was "horrendous".
"Generally, I am concerned about my game. I've had a bad run for the past three or four weeks and I will be working hard to get ready for Kiawah Island," said McGinley.
Incidentally, the full teams for the third contest of the Seve Trophy, which starts on Thursday in El Saler, are: Continental Europe: Seve Ballesteros (captain), Thomas Björn, Alex Cejka, Niclas Fasth, Sergio Garcia, Ignacio Garrido, Fredrik Jacobson, Raphaël Jacquelin, Miguel Angel Jiménez. Wild card: José Maria Olazábal.
Britain and Ireland: Colin Montgomerie (captain), Paul Casey, Brian Davis, Padraig Harrington, David Howell, Ian Poulter, Phillip Price, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood. Wild card: Paul Lawrie.
Meanwhile, Peter Lawrie, who finished 56th in the Order of Merit, is expected to be confirmed as "rookie of the year" later today . He will become the first Irish player to win the Henry Cotton award.
"I'm delighted with the year that I've had. I quietly made the rookie title one of my goals earlier in the year, and I am delighted to be the first Irish winner, especially when you consider the quality of players the country has produced down the years."
He will receive the award at the Tour's dinner prior to the Volvo PGA in Wentworth next May.
The Dubliner expects to start his second full season on the tour by playing in the South African Open in Erinvale on January 15th-18th, followed by the following week's Dunhill championship in Johannesburg.
Order of merit / Final positions:
1 Ernie Els (Rsa) 2,975,374.432
2 D Clarke €2,210,051
3 P Harrington €1,555,623
4 F Jacobson (Swe) 1,521,302.69
5 I Poulter (Eng) 1,500,855.27
6 P Casey (Eng) 1,360,455.86
7 L Westwood (Eng) 1,330,712.88
8 T Bjorn (Den) 1,327,148.17
9 B Davis (Eng) 1,245,512.65
10 P Price (Wal) 1,234,017.67
Rest of the Irish:
33 P McGinley €637,521;
56 P Lawrie 422,816;
59 G Murphy 386,419;
96 G McDowell 221,909;
140 D McGrane 126,363;
169 R Rafferty 54,911;
202 P Walton 25,539.
